


cover me

by poetryhoetry



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: DEMA (Twenty One Pilots), Insecurity, M/M, Mute Tyler Joseph, Self-Doubt, Trench Era, inspired by trench music videos, particularly jumpsuit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 15:56:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetryhoetry/pseuds/poetryhoetry
Summary: his face is illuminated by the torch light, honey brown eyes glowing in the darkness as he stares ahead to safety.this has turned out a lot differently from what i had expected.





	cover me

**Author's Note:**

> hello all!! i got extremely inspired by the trench and dema universe and the trench music videos and the album to write a fic going more in depth about the world of dema and trench and the banditos and tyler and josh (obviously). the world they created has always intrigued me so i felt really inspired to write about it from everything i've gathered and the info already provided. i hope you enjoy!

i awake with a start, head still pounding and vision not quite clear.

in fact, i am so distracted by these things that i barely acknowledge that i am laying in an ice cold riven.

i jump up as soon as i realize, and soon after find out the sack with all of my belongings is gone as well. i look around, seeing if anything around me looks familiar, finding that i’ve had basically the same view for the past two days of trekking. it’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, extremely refreshing after spending years basically in a prison. but it doesn’t help me figure out where i’m going and where the rest of them are. i decide to go right, since that’s the direction i had been walking before. i dust myself off, still freezing from the bitter cold water i had laid in. i shiver slightly, and begin walking right, towards even more grass covered hills and valleys. i look around as i walk, memorizing the scenery, not knowing how long i’ll be able to be here until one of the bishops find me. keons was a bit of an exception to this, but the rest were ruthless, especially nico. i’d be damned if i got caught by him.

i try to shake these thoughts out of my head, trying to keep my mind on the task at hand: finding the other banditos.

they’re a group of rebels who have successfully escaped the grip of dema, and that are now trying to help others escape. the leader, josh, sent me a letter a few months ago, offering assistant in escaping dema. i was slight apprehensive, not wanting to betray keons and fearing punishment from nico and the other bishops. but i agreed in the end, throwing all caution into the wind to get the hell out of dema.

between then and now, i began writing letters to josh and to myself, trying to work out the plan of getting me out successfully. josh was very determined on getting me out, setting my “release date” as early as we could to not seem suspicious. i packed a small sack with my most sentimental belongings three days in advance, not wanting to forget them.

i sent out one last note to josh to let him know i was leaving soon, and did one last prayer to keons before slowly and cautiously heading out of my room on july 8th at 10:45pm. i tip-toed my way through the many corridors and laid low so i wouldn’t get caught. i slipped through the gate of my part of dema and ended up in the center of the bishop section. this was the most tricky part, josh told me. i crouched low to the ground, trying not to shuffle my feet and make any noise. it took me about ten minutes to get past the center of dema, but as soon as i did, it was smooth sailing from there. i couldn’t exit through the main entrance, josh told me, or it would set off an alarm to the bishops that someone had attempted to escape. i had to climb the wall that enclosed dema from the rest of the world. thankfully with the help of josh, not by myself.

he had said he would lower a rope at precisely 11:15pm, and he kept his promise. a few minutes after anxiously waiting the rope lowered slowly over the wall. i grasped it carefully with both hands, hauling myself up and putting my feet on the rope as well, creating a pattern to climb all the way up the rope and get to the top of the wall. i looked down to see josh, full uniform on with a lit torch in hand. i barely had time to greet him, giving him a short timid wave before climbing down the rope on the other side of the wall. soon, we were face-to-face for the first time, not really knowing what to say.

josh broke the tension by giving me a one-armed hug to ensure i didn’t catch on fire with his torch. he pulled away, pulling his bandana away from his mouth to whisper, “i have to go back to the others, but i’ll walk with you until i get to them. do you have everything you need?” i nodded, gesturing to the small sack slung around my shoulder. josh hummed in approval, turning back (i assume from where he came) and walking towards the dark greenery. i followed suit, eventually catching up and being side-by-side with josh.

i wanted to say something to him, express my gratitude for helping me escape, but i hadn’t spoken in years and i wasn’t sure how my voice would come out after years of silence. i decided to mouth to him instead, tapping his shoulder to get his attention from the trail ahead of us.

he turned his head to look at me, and i could barely keep eye contact, his gaze was so intense. i looked down for a second, not being able to handle such a scrutinizing expression.

he seemed to have realized, because when i looked back up, his face had softened, eyebrows lowered and eyes calmer. _thank you,_ i mouthed, trying my best to convey my gratitude towards him for his help. it took a moment for him to understand what i was trying to say, but once he understood, his lips twitched up into a fraction of a smile. “i don’t think anyone has thanked me in a long time,” josh said, his voice melancholy and weary. he quickly turned his head back to the trail, leaving me to stare at his profile illuminated by the torch light.

his confession had saddened me, but also raised many questions. _how long has he been doing this? when did he escape dema? how did he escape dema? how many other banditos are there?_ i pocketed those questions for another time, looking ahead and seeing a patch of light in the distance. i assumed those were the other banditos, huddled in a secluded area between the mountains. josh slowed down his walking speed suddenly, causing me to slow down too, but looking at him in immense confusion. i’m sure he could sense it because he spoke up. “when we get close to the place where the banditos stay, we need to walk slower to ensure them that bishops aren’t running after them to take them back to dema. sorry, i should’ve clarified that.” i nodded my head, understanding now why we had to walk so slow. it actually made quite a lot of sense, so you always knew who was coming.

we walked for a few more minutes before we paused a few feet from where the other banditos were camped. he rushed over to the camp to get me a torch and lit it with his, handing it to me and putting his free hand on my shoulder. “if there’s ever trouble and a bishop somehow finds you, we’ll be there and do as much as we can, okay? the route i’ve led you to is fairly easy, you’ll be going straight and right most of the time, so it won’t be difficult to navigate. oh! i almost forgot.” he rushed back to the campsite and came back in less than five seconds, holding a long green coat and a ring of yellow tape. he gently covered me with the long green coat, fully zipping it up and covering it in strips of yellow tape.

“this will make you recognizable as a bandito, so we will be able to identify you easier, but i don’t think i’ll forget the one person who’s thanked me over the years,” he smiled, trying to make light of the situation, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. i gave him a small smile, looking down and digging the toe of my shoe in the ground. “okay, i think you’re all set. we should see you in three days max. if something goes wrong, send me a letter, clancy.”

i froze up, forgetting i had used a fake name in case the bishops had found my letters.

i shook my head, hoping that was enough indication that clancy wasn’t my name. “what is it?” josh asked, eyebrows raised, concern and exhaustion seeping into his voice. _name,_ i mouthed, and shook my head again.

his eyebrows went down for a second, understanding what i had said. they shot up once again, however, presumably curious about my actual name. “oh okay, so your name isn’t clancy. what is it, then? i wouldn’t be so pressing about it normally, but i really need it for safety reasons.”

i nodded in understanding, mouthing back _tyler_ over-dramatically so he could easily read my lips. he looked at me carefully before he said, “tyler?” i nodded, feeling a peculiar sensation of hearing my name said outside of dema, and said by josh no less.

josh hummed, seeming satisfied with my answer. “okay, tyler, we’ll hopefully see you in a couple of days. good luck,” and then he was off, the light of his torch disappearing into the camp the other banditos were staying in.

i adjusted my grip on my bag and my torch and trudged off down the rest of the trail, beginning to feel a glimmer of hope that wasn’t there before.

the first day out, july 9th, was almost flawless. i simply walked the route josh had told me to and rested when i needed to. there were lots of small creeks as well, where i could drink fresh water and clean my hands and face when i felt i had to. i kept my bag close to me and kept my long green trench coat zipped up at all times.

the second day, july 10th, wasn’t as easy, i think. i don’t remember much of it, only that i was walking the trail one moment and fading into black the next, which leaves me where i am now, without my belongings and freezing cold from landing in an icy cold creek. i continue on, though, subconsciously on the lookout for josh or the other banditos.

_is it july 11th?_ i think to myself. the last time i was conscious, it was getting close to the evening, and now it appears to be early morning, so it must be july 11th. they should be here soon.

i try not to let my anxiety grow too much, since it is only the beginning of the day. i continue forward, trying to distract myself from my shaking hands. i look around again, the scenery around me never failing to shock me at its beauty.

i begin to think about where my sack could’ve gone, why i woke up in freezing cold water, how it even happened, who did it. my hands begin to shake more, so i save those questions for later. _maybe josh knows what happened,_ i think. i switch my train of thought to josh and the other banditos.

i haven’t met any of the other banditos, and i selfishly want to keep it that way. the only one to ever send me letters and help me escape was josh, so naturally, i feel the most comfortable around him. he’s talked about a few others by name in our letters, but i couldn’t be bothered to remember them. besides, i haven’t had much interaction with other humans since being in dema, so i’d probably just make things weird with the other banditos. probably josh too.

not sleeping for three days is beginning to catch up with me, my eyes fluttering closed as i continue walking down the trail. i force them open, not wanting to end up in another puddle of ice water. i keep walking, but i begin to feel an eerie feeling, as if someone is watching me. i look at the top of the mountains again, and find that the banditos are still not there. i look to my left, right, seeing nothing that would cause me to feel uneasy.

until i look ahead of me.

a white horse with a faceless bishop is hurdling my way at full speed. as the bishop gets closer, banditos begin to swarm the mountain tops. i find josh among the many banditos, still in the same outfit i saw him in before. i lock eyes with him, pleading for him to help. do something, anything. but i know there’s not much he can do at the moment. he simply stares back blankly, bandana hiding any emotion he may be displaying on his face.

i turn my attention back to the bishop. he’s a lot closer than he was before.

i want to scream, i want to run, i want to plead to josh or a bandito or anybody to get me the hell out of this. my blood is boiling, my adrenaline pumping, my muscles are begging me to move and get the fuck away. but i find myself frozen, unable to move no matter how much i want to.

i stare blankly ahead at the approaching bishop, which i can now identify as nico. he’s getting so much closer and my feet are twitching to start moving and run, but i can’t get them to fucking budge.

he’s too close now for me to run away successfully, so i stay put, scrunching my face up and closing my eyes to prepare myself for whatever punishment nico has for me now. i hear the stomps of the horses hooves getting closer. i clench my fists, wondering what would’ve happened if the banditos had come just a few minutes earlier. the horse slows down to a stop, presumably right in front of me. i hear a thump on the ground, thinking it’s probably nico stepping off of his stead to greet me with his ever so venomous words. his steps are slow, almost taunting. he knows my expectations.

he stops abruptly. i can feel his dark presence in front of me, and i search my mind for any ideas as to what could happen next. i think about josh and the other banditos, what must be running through their heads right now. they probably think helping me escape was a waste of time since i’m such a dumbass that i got caught. josh probably wishes he never helped me. my anxiety ridden thoughts are cut short as nicos cold, nimble fingers reach up to my neck. i flinch involuntarily, wanting to scream and rip his hands off of me, but i stay still. he wipes the tips of his fingers across my neck, leaving some type of ashy substance behind. my mind begins to spin, my anxious thoughts suddenly getting louder.

e v e r y t h i n g i s t o o m u c h t r o u b l e f o r y o u.

n o b o d y r e a l l y c a r es f o r y o u.

y o u a r e o n l y p i t i e d a n d t h a t s a l l y o u w i l l e v e r b e.

y o u d e s e r v e e v e r y e v i l t h i n g t h e b i s h o p s h a v e d o n e t o y o u.

nico mounts his horse again as my mind becomes fuzzy and numb. i blindly follow nicos lead, forgetting about josh and the others above. i walk almost zombie-like, as if that ashy substance completely sucked out my soul. we walk for a short while until i feel something light and feathery land on my shoulder. it snaps me out of my trance slightly, and i look up to find small, yellow flower petals all around me. the banditos are dropping them, seemingly trying to cause a distraction so i could run. i’m not sure what a bunch of flower petals could distract from, but i take what i can get.

i stop in my tracks, turning the other way and sprinting away as fast as i can. i can hear my heartbeat in my ears. my limbs are on fire, they’re moving so fast. i think i've made it through, and i begin to smile triumphantly, before i stumble and fall into cold waters and darkness once again.

the last thing on my mind before i fade into the darkness is joshs blank, emotionless expression illuminated by his torch light.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments are always welcome and appreciated. the next chapter should be out soon!


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